Translations

An Imprimatur is an official declaration from the
hierarchy of the Roman
Catholic Church that a literary or similar work is free from
error in matters of Roman Catholic doctrine and morals, and hence acceptable
reading for faithful Roman Catholics. Ordinarily an imprimatur is
granted by the bishop of
a diocese (after a
declaration of nihil obstat
has been granted by a theologian in regard to the
work). On rare occasions, a bishop's imprimatur may be overruled by
higher authorities within the Catholic Church; this happened twice
in 1984 and
again in 1998.

Background

It is of greatest significance in works directly
addressing Roman Catholic theology and doctrine, and was
introduced as a measure to reduce exposure, particularly of the
laity, to heresy. The presence of the
imprimatur was at one time a matter of the greatest concern to many
Roman Catholics. (In fact, in some officially Roman Catholic
countries, nothing could be legally published without such an
imprimatur. This was a form of prior
restraint or censorship.) Today it is
likely of concern only to more traditionally minded Roman
Catholics. It is a misconception that religion textbooks used in
Catholic
schools must have received the imprimatur. Rather, it is only
required that the local Ordinary approve them for his diocese (can.
827).

Nihil obstat
(Latin, meaning "nothing hinders") — This indicates that the work
has been examined and approved by a delegated censor and that
he finds it free of doctrinal or moral error. The censor is often a
scholarly priest, and it is his task to work back-and-forth with
the author of the work to correct any inaccuracies or problems. For
works produced by members of religious orders, two nihil obstats
from members of the order were formerly necessary.

Imprimi
potest (Latin, meaning "it can be printed") — If the work was
that of a member of a religious
order, this indicated that it had first been examined and
approved by the religious superior or head of the religious order
(or a duly appointed representative). This was given only after the
two nihil obstats had been obtained from censors delegated by the
superior of the religious order.

A nihil obstat from the censor of the diocese in which
publication takes place was, and still is, always necessary to
obtain the imprimatur itself. The censor in this case is appointed
by the bishop, and may be a priest given general authority for this
or assigned specifically for an individual book (allowing the
bishop to choose a scholar most qualified in a given field to
examine the work). Even if the above nihil obstats had been
obtained, and the imprimi potest, this diocesan nihil obstat was
also always necessary. Today, most books need just this nihil
obstat.

Imprimatur (Latin, meaning "let it be printed") — This is the
actual final approval by the bishop of the diocese where the work
is to be published, or by other ecclesiastical authority. It is
given under the bishop's role as chief teacher of the faith within
his diocese.

Following this, some works may also include the
following statement:

"The Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur are official
declarations that a book or pamphlet is free of doctrinal or moral
error. No implication is contained therein that those who have
granted the Nihil Obstat and the Imprimatur agree with the content,
opinions or statements expressed."

While at first glance this statement might seem
contradictory, it indicates the purpose of the imprimatur:
theologians and other writers are free to discuss various theories,
ideas, approaches, or positions on theological topics - even if the
bishop does not agree with the author's positions - provided they
do not actually harm Catholic faith or morals. Within Catholic
doctrine, therefore, a breadth of possible opinions may be freely
discussed.

Imprimaturs are not automatically transferrable
to later versions of a work. Any new edition also requires a new
imprimatur to be obtained.

The imprimatur can be revoked if, upon further
examination, any doctrinal or moral error is found to be contained
in the work.

Other uses of the term

The term "imprimatur" is sometimes
used in a broader sense to indicate official approval by whatever
authorities are pertinent to the field in question (not necessarily
the Catholic Church.) For example, a political work might be said
to have the "imprimatur" of a certain politician or political
party. This is typically meant in a
figurative sense, although sometimes such works are directly
endorsed in a manner similar to the Catholic Church process with a
replica signature of endorsement or something similar.

This term is also often used in regular
commercial printing process as an approval of customer's authorised
person to finally sent the job to the print house, for example
after a test copy has been reviewed and approved.